NCIS-Los Angeles: The Grand Game
by TnJAGAz
Summary: When we last left Callen and the rest of the NCIS Office of Special Projects Team they were just about to apprehend Marcel Janiver. Janiver told them he had anticipated this and had a news crew and the Los Angeles police there to make sure Callen and his team couldn't arrest him. But with the deaths of Mike Renko and Loren Hunter, Callen was determined not to let him escape again.
1. Chapter 1

NCIS: LA

Title: The Grand Game

Author: txncistn aka TnJAGAz

Rating: G/PG [some violence, etc.]

Classification: A NCIS: LA Episode. When we last left Callen and the rest of the NCIS Office of Special Projects Team they were just about to apprehend Marcel Janiver. Janiver told them he had anticipated this and had a news crew and the Los Angeles police there to make sure Callen and his team couldn't arrest him. But with the deaths of Mike Renko and Loren Hunter, Callen was determined not to let Janiver escape again.

Spoilers: Anything from Seasons 1-3.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Broadcasting Service Entertainment – this story is for non-profit entertainment of NCIS: LA fans only. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.

"**Stand down everyone, stand down!"** Sam called out. Callen just stared at Marcel Janiver's body that lay in the open doorway of the van as if daring him to move. The bullets he had pumped into it assured he wouldn't move again.

"Drop your weapons!" The two officers yelled at the four NCIS Office of Special Projects Agents. Callen slowly put his automatic on the ground. As did the three others member of the OSP team. The news crew which had just arrived continued filming.

"We're NCIS Agents, officer," Sam began slowly trying to explain what was going on. He pointed at the van and Janiver. "This man is responsible for the death of two NCIS Agents."

"Until we sort this all out, keep your hands where we can see them, Special Agent. That goes for you two as well," the other officer ordered. Meanwhile the officer's partner had begun cuffing Callen and reading him his rights.

Sam, Marty, and Kensi exchanged helpless looks as Callen was led handcuffed over to a nearby patrol car and put in the back seat.

xix

**Deputy Director Owen Granger** walked into his office and saw the letter on his desk. Without looking at it, he knew who it was from. His cell began buzzing. "Granger." He only listened for a moment before he replied. "I'm on my way." He took Hetty's letter and slid it in his jacket breast pocket as he headed out.

xiix

**Hetty was carefully putting** the last box in her roadster when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and looked at the number displayed. It was Sam. If it had been Nell or Eric, she wouldn't have answered.

She sighed and hit the 'answer' button. "Yes Sam?"

"Hetty, Callen's been arrested. He killed Janiver. There's a news crew down here filming everything."

He didn't say 'please help' but she could hear it in the former SEAL's voice. Hetty weighed telling him she had resigned. Still, she couldn't leave Callen to face this alone. "I'll be there as soon as I can," she said snapping her phone shut before he could say anything else.

xiiix

"**Now just listen to me!** Contact Lieutenant Roger Bates, he'll tell you that I'm a former liaison to NCIS from the Los Angeles Police Department!" Marty said to the officer as he walked away from him. The officer waved his hand dismissively at him.

"Somehow I don't think they are impressed, Deeks," Sam said as he watched the policemen continue to talk to the detectives and coroner that had just arrived.

"Hey, as far as I am concerned these guys are not following protocol by not contacting him," Marty shot back. "What Callen did only looked bad to someone who had just rolled up on the scene. We saw what Janiver did to Lauren Hunter."

"We've got to do something, Sam," Kensi said urgently. "We can't just let them take Callen away like this."

"Let me handle that, Ms. Blye."

All three turned to see Hetty Lange standing behind them.

xivx

"**Hetty-" Kensi smiled** as she started to greet the Operational Head of OSP. But Hetty Lange's hand held up to her indicated that the old Cold Warrior had something to tell all of them.

"I will do what I can for Callen, Sam," Hetty replied to Sam Hanna's unspoken report. "You three need to report to the acting Operational Head, Mr. Granger-"

"Granger? Hetty, what's going on?" asked the scruffy sandy haired former LAPD detective.

Hetty was on her way over to the patrol car holding Callen. "No time to explain now, Mr. Deeks," she called back to him. "See to it that you all report to Mr. Granger as soon as he arrives. I'll be at the local precinct with Callen."

As Hetty began talking with the two officers, Kensi huddled with Sam and Marty. "So what's our next move, Sam?" she asked.

"Your next move, Ms. Blye, is to report to the boat shed." All three turned around to see Owen Granger standing behind them. "All of you."

xvx

"**Hetty, what are you doing here?"** Callen asked when the door to the patrol car was opened.

"Why conferring with my client and friend, of course," Hetty said slyly as she stood looking in at Callen. "Why did you do it, Mr. Callen?"

G. Callen looked stoically at his diminutive guardian. "Someone had to stop him, Hetty." he said grimly.

Hetty sighed and nodded her agreement.

xvix

**Sam, Kensi, and Deeks stood** in the interrogation room, not sure what to do next.

"So here we are," Deeks said to no one in particular, "What do we do now?"

As if on cue, the door to the room opened and Owen Granger stepped in.

"You can't let him get away with this," Sam said to acting OSP Director Granger. "He set us up from the beginning."

"That is not my concern," Granger said evenly, as he motioned for the three special agents to sit down. "My concern is getting you and your team out of the limelight as soon as possible."

"Since when do you care what happens to any of us?" Kensi snapped. She still did not trust this man and his showing up just now added to that distrust.

"I'm with her," Deeks added, "Why are you all of sudden so concerned about our welfare?"

"Because it is in my best interest to look out for my team," he said simply.

Sam looked at other two agents and then back at Granger. "Your team? Since when has this been *your team*?" Sam didn't like what was happening at all.

"Yeah, I'd kinda like to know the answer to that one too," Deeks added.

He looked at all three special agents with a look that some could have interpreted as sympathetic. "Hetty submitted her resignation, and I've accepted it. You're my responsibility now."

"You've accepted it? What about Director Vance? Has he accepted it?" Kensi eyes bored into his.

Granger avoided looking directly at her. "He's busy right now. NCIS Headquarters was bombed hours ago by a previously unknown terrorist, Harper Dearing."

That announcement left the trio stunned. The three traded shocked looks.

"How bad was it?" Sam asked. He remembered when Special Agents Gibbs and McGee came to California trying to track down that rogue Israeli Mossad Agent Michael Rivkin and the time Abby Sciuto visited to help Eric.

"They are still doing rescue and recovery operations," Granger replied. "Mr. Beale and Ms. Jones will fill you in on everything that you need to know about Dearing. You're wheels up in less than an hour on a flight into Andrews. Good luck."

And with that, Owen Granger left the room.

"Where is he headed?" Deeks asked.

"He's got a lot of work to do, Deeks, and so do we." Sam replied.

"Sam," Eric Beale's voice came through loud and clear on his earwig.

The three started to leave the room and head for the armory to get what they would need. Sam put his hand to his ear as he responded to the NCIS OSP's tech's call. "Talk to me, Eric. What's the situation at the Naval Yard?"

"It's bad Sam," Nell replied.

-TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

NCIS: LA - The Grand Game, Part 2

Author: txncistn aka TnJAGAz

Rating: G/PG [some violence, etc.]

Classification: A NCIS: LA Episode. When we last left Callen and the rest of the NCIS Office of Special Projects Team they were just about to apprehend Marcel Janiver. Janiver told them he had anticipated this and had a news crew and the Los Angeles police there to make sure Callen and his team couldn't arrest him. But with the deaths of Mike Renko and Loren Hunter, Callen was determined not to let Janiver escape again.

A/N: Once the season opener had concluded I was confused as to what had actually taken place. So when this week's episode said they had all taken brief 'vacations' I decided that this could have happened. Some won't like this and my feeling is, if you don't that's okay – this is just my version of what might have happened after Janiver was turned over to the Iranians.

Spoilers: Anything from Seasons 1-3.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Broadcasting Service Entertainment – this story is for non-profit entertainment of NCIS: LA fans only. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.

**"It's bad Sam," Nell replied.**

"How bad?" was all he could think to say.

"NCIS reports more than a dozen dead and twice that injured. It would have been worse, but they were evacuating the building when the blast occurred."

"SECNAV Jarvis has authorized use of extreme force to stop Dearing, Sam." Eric added.

Sam traded grim looks with Kensi and Deeks. "We'll have our gear in a few minutes and be headed to the airbase soon after that, Eric, who do we report to when we get there?"

There was an audible pause. "Eric?" Sam said tersely. Had the situation just gotten worse?

"Sam, we hate to jerk you and the others around like this, but this comes from SECNAV and Director Vance. Operation Chameleon takes priority over the manhunt for Dearing. Chameleon is a national security issue, and while Dearing represents a clear and present danger, FBI has assured us that they can stop Dearing."

Sam stopped as did the other two OSP Agents. "So what are telling us, Nell?" Kensi asked.

"Operation Chameleon is still active. Sam is to proceed to the LAPD Central Holding Area first thing tomorrow morning and meet with Callen when he is released on bail, to ensure his safety."

"And what about us?" Kensi asked.

"You're on standby until Sam assesses the situation with Callen and Hetty." Eric replied.

xxviixx

**Owen and Hetty **were sitting in her office discussing the successful conclusion of Operation Chameleon when the OSP Director's phone rang. Hetty picked it up.

"Yes? I understand Leon….we'll get on it right away." Hetty put the phone back on the receiver and exchanged a tense look with Owen Granger.

xxviiixx

**In the OSP bullpen**, Callen slowly sat down his chair. The beating he took from the Iranians was brutal, but he had been through worse…still it wasn't any fun.

Sam came back into the bullpen area with an ice pack. "Pick which spot needs it the most," he said smiling wryly at his battered buddy.

Callen gratefully took the ice pack. As he was about to place it on the nastiest looking bruise, he heard footsteps above him. Both he and Sam looked up. It was Eric. His face was ashen.

"We have a situation," was all he said.

Kensi and Deeks were already there when Sam and Callen arrived in the Ops Center.

"These satellite images came in just moments ago," Eric said in a usually quiet voice. On the oversize monitors the OSP team watched as a fleabag motel in downtown DC blew apart. The shattered building gushed flame.

"An FBI-SR team was killed in this hotel trying to apprehend Harper Dearing. Dearing escaped," Nell added in as neutral a voice as she could manage.

"SECNAV has asked your team, Agent Callen, to be flown Andrews and liaise with NCIS Headquarters and other law enforcement agencies involved in the manhunt," Hetty noted as she and Owen Granger entered the room.

Callen looked at the destruction, the second time in days Dearing had killed. The last time it was twenty some NCIS Agents, Marines and Navy personnel at NCIS Headquarters. "When do we leave?" was all he said.

"Assistant Director Granger has you on the next military transport into Andrews," Hetty replied grimly. "You are to use all means necessary to stop Dearing. Extreme prejudice, Mr. Callen."

Callen nodded stoically. "Understood Hetty." He turned to Sam and the others. "Let's go."

xxixxx

"**Who is this Harper Dearing character anyway?" **Deeks asked as they settled into their seats aboard the C-17 Air Force transport. "He looks like one of my old English professors."

"He's an international businessman from Virginia," Sam replied. "Was one of people who purchased one of Watcher Group's "Phantom Eight" team RFIDs that were on sale on the black market last year."

"I remember reading about that," Kensi replied. "The head of the unit and his assistant commander betrayed and killed most of the members of Phantom Eight. The assistant commander, Captain Jonathan Cole, tried to disarm the car bomb in front of NCIS Headquarters."

Callen was holding his automatic in his hands, looking at it as if it could tell him something. "Dearing says he's doing this as revenge for his son's death when a terrorist attack against his ship resulted in his death."

Deeks shook his head and blew out a frustrated sigh. "That's complicated."

Sam shook his head in response as looked at the former LAPD detective. "Not the way Dearing sees it. He sees the Navy as being responsible because the destroyer his son was on was supposed to be retrofitted to minimize damage in case of just such an attack. Only his ship hadn't gone through the refit yet."

"Which resulted in his son's death," Callen finished for him.

"I still don't get it. How does NCIS figure into all this?" Deeks asked. He was still trying to make sense of the acts of a madman.

Sam knew what he was trying to do. It was futile but it was perfectly human response to something of this magnitude. "NCIS did an investigation into his death, but Dearing felt they did a poor job in the investigation, so he blames the Navy and NCIS for his son's death and for those responsible escaping justice."

The massive aircraft's engines spooling up dampened any further conversation as their banshee wail filled the cabin.

xxxxx

**Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks were met **by FBI Special Agent in Charge Tobias Fornell at Andrews.

"Where's Gibbs?" Callen asked.

"He's coordinating the manhunt from NCIS Headquarters."

"How's Special Agent McGee?" Sam asked. The team had learned that of Gibbs' DC Major Case Response Team, Tim was wounded in the lower stomach by debris and Dr. Mallard had suffered a heart attack. He remembered how the MIT Graduate had walked around their old operations center in awe of their high tech toys. When all this was over, he'd bring him back to see their new facility and probably generate whole new level of envy in the young NCIS Agent.

"He'll have a heck of a scar below his rib cage, but he'll live," Fornell said gruffly giving them all a wry smile. "He got really lucky."

"We saw what happened to your SRT," Kensi said sympathetically.

"That bastard always seems two steps ahead of us," The FBI SAC ground out bitterly.

"Tell us what you need us to do," Deeks replied, understanding the law officer's unspoken grief.

Tobias Fornell sighed. "Well, undercover ops don't work with him. That's how I lost my Special Response Team. He knew it was a set up the whole time."

"Then we'll try something else," Callen replied.

xxxixx

**Gibbs was working in his basement**, making more measurements.

"I'd always wondered if you'd kept up those woodworking skills you used to pass the time when we were on surveillance in Moscow. Nice place you got here."

The Head of the DC MCRT turned at the sound of Callen's voice as he came down the stairs. "Come on in Callen."

Callen looked around at Gibbs workshop. "Jenny ever see this place?"

Gibbs continued making his measurements. "Uh huh; and Mike. What do you want, Callen?"

"I'm that transparent?" He said half-jokingly

The Head of the DC MCRT marked off another measurement on the floor. "Only when you want something, so spit it out,"

Callen nodded. He walked over his former team mate. "I heard you and Vance talked about Dearing,"

"Yeah, we did." It was a statement of fact, nothing there to hide.

Callen continued. "You convinced him that the only way to catch him was to go after him, alone."

"Yep," was Gibbs' one word reply as he continued working.

"What did your team think about that?" The younger NCIS Agent asked.

Gibbs continued making his measurements. "They didn't like it, but they understood."

He walked over and stood behind Gibbs. "When I told Sam what Vance said, he said he understood your reasoning."

The DC MCRT Head stood and turned to face him. "But you don't," he challenged.

Callen stood his ground. He knew that Gibbs was trying to bluff him. "Convince me."

But this time instead of more bluster he went for honesty. "He hurt my family, Callen, you wouldn't understand that."

Callen thought about that for a moment. "No, but as a team leader I understand the need to watch out for your team."

"I have to do this alone, Callen."

The younger NCIS nodded. "I know you do, at least I do now."

xxxiixx

**Callen watched from the hillside **as Gibbs got out of his truck and headed into Dearing's house.

"Did he go in?" It was Sam. He knew he couldn't keep the SEAL in Sam Hanna from participating.

"Yeah he just went in," Callen replied. "Were you going to tell me that you followed me?"

"Nah, it would just lead to an argument," Sam quipped as he settled down beside Callen and sighted his sniper rifle on the house. "Dearing's in the kitchen," he reported dropping the smile from his voice.

"What can you see?" asked Callen. His binoculars, while good, weren't as good high powered scope on Sam's rifle.

"Not much. Dearing appears to be making coffee for both of them…hold it, there's an automatic on the windowsill. Dearing has his back to it."

"Trying to distract Gibbs," Callen said tersely.

"Should I take him out?" Sam asked.

Callen shook his head as he watched the two men in the house. "Gibbs would never forgive us if we did. No, we only take the shot if Gibbs is down."

"He's going for it-"

"I see him-"

The two OSP Agents peered intently at the farmhouse. Neither spoke for a moment.

"Dearing's dead?" Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, it's over," Callen said getting up. Sam joined him as they walked back to their car.

xxxiiixx

**Sam and Callen were getting ready** to board the C-17 headed to Los Angeles when Director Vance and Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked up to where they were standing.

"Thanks for coming out," Gibbs said shaking Callen's hand.

"We didn't do that much," Callen said off handedly.

Gibbs gave Callen and Sam a knowing look. "But you would have if Dearing had killed me," he replied matter-of-factly.

All four men chuckled about that.

"Kensi and Deeks back in LA?" Vance asked.

"Hetty needed them," Callen stated as an answer to the question.

"Do tell. Something I should be aware of?" The NCIS Director asked.

"Hetty felt it was unnecessary for four OSP Agents to be here, given your decision regarding how to handle Harper Dearing." Sam stated with a stoic face.

"Well played," Vance replied. "Be sure to thank Eric and Nell again for coordinating with McGee on getting NCIS's computers back online."

"They said it was the least they could do, Director," Sam replied.

xxxivxx

**Gibbs gave his former team mate** a half smile. "Take care of yourself, Callen," he said, shaking his hand.

"You too, Gibbs," he replied.

"Next time we get together we'll have steaks-cowboy style."

Callen gave the older NCIS Agent a wry half smile. "Looking forward to it."

The two OSP Agents walked up the ramp into the cavernous hold of the military cargo jet. Gibbs and Leon Vance watched as the C-17 closed its cargo doors and powered up its engines so it could taxi down the runway. In moments the military plane had made its way out to the main runway and with a burst of speed, launched itself into the sky headed west.

-FINIS


End file.
